Art on Park Gallery, home of Artists of Palm Beach County, presents new artworks by Yury Lobo. He was raised in a small rural town in Russia, where the signs “No Trespassing” hung on every door. By pure chance, at the age of 12, Yury and his mother attended the first American Exhibition in Moscow. He was particularly struck by the painting, “Cathedral” by American abstract expressionist, Jackson Pollock. That day changed the trajectory of his life forever! Pushing boundaries, Yury found freedom in the United States, beingfully opened to new heights of artistic expression. The Rickie Report shares details of his newest exhibit at Art on Park Gallery in Lake Park. Meet the artist on Friday, August 24th at a free, opening reception. We also list classes, free workshops and other events available at Art On Park Gallery.

Art on Park Gallery

For Artists by artists of all disciplines, media and price points

Monday through Saturday Noon to 6 PM

800 Park Avenue Lake Park, Florida 33403

561-345-2842

Y U R Y L O B O

Opening Reception:

Friday, August 24

5 – 8 PM

Free and open to the Public

Exhibit available August 13 to September 7th

“Exhausted” by Yury Lobo

Since his early childhood, Yury Slobodenuk has been fascinated with the world of wild colors and the art of collage. However, he never considered becoming a professional artist partly due to the lack of encouragement from his parents and partly due to the general disapproval of this “degenerate art” by the Soviet authorities. What stands out in his memory is a visit to the first American National Exhibition with his mother in July, 1959, featuring among others, Jackson Pollock’s “Cathedral”. Yury was shocked and amazed at the same time. He tells The Rickie Report, “Most visitors considered it a joke..in bad taste. But the impact on my subconscious at the age of 12 was life changing. That is why my interests centered later on with more avant-garde artists. I appreciate Van Gogh, Chagall, Kandinsky, Malevich, Picasso, Matisse, Miro, Brague, Warhol, Rothko, Klimt, Shiele, Modigliani and of course, Pollock.”

“Venus of Auschwitz” by Yury Lobo

Yury created a few paintings for close friends and family, trusting his inner instincts. Back then, in the USSR he didn’t have the courage to paint and share his passion for abstract expressionism and collage publicly. Keeping his painting mostly to himself, he pursued a career that was more economically sound. He received a Masters degree in German and English, studied the history of art and worked as a licensed multilingual guide at the majors art museums in the former USSR. He became a journalist, interpreter, German teacher, TV script writer.

“Beatles Undivided” by Yury Lobo

Having fled the USSR in 1991 for political reasons, Yury first established himself in Miami and pursued his journalism career, working for several Russian-American newspapers. Later, he started one of his own, but sold it in 2007 and moved to West Palm Beach, where he continues his career as a German teacher and now a contemporary artist. The freedom of expression in America has motivated and inspired Yury to fulfill the dream of his youth – sharing his creative side publicly. His artistic name, “Lobo” is a shortened form of his long Ukrainian last name, “Slobodenyuk”, which translates to ” a free man”. “Lobo” means “wolf”, the symbol of the tireless will, yearning for freedom.

Yury tells The Rickie Report, ” My fellow countryman, Kasimir Malevich once said, ‘Comrades, arise, free yourselves from the tyranny of objects!’ In this sense, I, like him, consider myself an abstract artist and a revolutionary. My battle cry is ‘Stop copying the world! Create a new one!’ Whoever is afraid of bright colors is afraid of life, which I am not”. Furthermore, Yuri confesses, ” I know it sounds nuts, but I consider myself a kind of modern reincarnation of the late Jackson Pollock who, in his own words was a “cowboy” painter. Like him, I’m painting “from the hip”, creating huge abstract compositions within minutes, using brusque wild strokes of bold colors. Some of my colleagues (part joking, part serious) are dubbing me “Jack The Whipper” for whipping that canvas with paint instead of dripping it as Jack The Dripper (Jackson Pollock) did”.

“Night in Lisbon” by Yury Lobo

Yury goes on to explain, “In the art of collage, I represent a completely different point of view. My slightly distorted collages are pretty close to reality and filled with hidden ironies and sometimes tragic messages. Being a history buff, I can’t help but act as the mocking bird, laughing at the human inability to learn from history…which of course sees that such ignorance is doomed to repeat itself. Every collage is a “time capsule” with a message to future generations. A true artist is about the inner energy which he or she tunnels to the public through the art. If there is no reaction at the receiving end, then the energy was either poor or lost in artistic translation”.